Relations between ethnic Azerbaijanis and the Dagestani peoples in the North Caucasus republic’s southern city of Derbent have reached a boiling point. Two new acts of vandalism—one against a grave of a Muslim leader venerated by Azerbaijanis and a second against a monument to Nizami,... MORE

As 2014 draws to a close, energy developments in the Eurasian region have been gaining new prominence. Notably, on December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to Turkey to attend the fifth meeting of the Turkish-Russian High-Level Cooperation Council (CNN Turk, December... MORE

On December 10, a delegation from the Serbian National Assembly, led by parliamentary speaker Maja Gojkovic, visited the Azerbaijani capital of Baku (Azernews.az, December 10). During their two-day visit, the members of the Serbian delegation met with several high-ranking Azerbaijani officials, including President Ilham Aliyev.... MORE

On November 29, a television station styling itself “the National Television of Talyshton” (“Tolyshystoni Millaiiya Vindasado”—TMV) began broadcasting in Azerbaijan under the direction of Talysh poet Zabig Madozh. One year ago, Madozh launched a YouTube video service in the Talysh language, and he insists that... MORE

Ongoing tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran have filled the press in both countries for the past five years. However, these bilateral frictions have begun to deescalate since Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Iran on April 16, 2014. And last month (November 12–13), newly inaugurated... MORE

As fighting for the northern Syrian town of Kobane raged in early October, videos of Islamic State militants speaking the Azerbaijani language began appearing on YouTube (RFE/RL, October 14). These video clips were followed by reports about Azerbaijani nationals found among dead Islamic State fighters... MORE

Despite Western economic sanctions, Iranian-Turkish relations have been developing in many different directions in recent years. Illustratively, on October 24–25, the Eastern Anatolia Development Agency (DAKA), Iran’s Foreign Ministry Institution for Political and International Studies (IPIS) and the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM)... MORE

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are seeking to link their national railways with those of Iran, something that could be an economic lifesaver for Yerevan and an additional outlet for Baku’s exports of Caspian oil and gas. At present, Azerbaijan has the advantage because it does... MORE

Between July 30 and August 4, flash skirmishes erupted along the Armenia-Azerbaijan contact line. While small-scale ceasefire violations have been relatively common, the recent events caused the highest casualty rates this frozen conflict has seen since 2008. According to official sources, 13 Azerbaijani soldiers were... MORE

With the implementation of new Western sanctions against Russia as a result of the continued instability in eastern Ukraine, the other post-Soviet countries are closely monitoring foreign policy developments inside the United States. The rapidly cooling relations between Washington and Moscow were most recently borne... MORE